Funeral of Dominique Bernard: tribute to the professor who “did not like honors”

The funeral of Dominique Bernard brought together the family of the murdered professor. during the Arras attack, but also teachers, students and the President of the Republic. A private funeral and national tribute.

A sober but highly symbolic ceremony. The funeral of Dominique Bernard, the murdered French teacher during the Arras attack, were held on the morning of Thursday October 19 in Paris. Arras Cathedral. If the ceremony led by Bishop Olivier Leborgne was not open to the public, nearly a thousand people were present in the cathedral for the funeral of the teacher: family, friends, but also fellow teachers and students of the high school where he was buried. he taught.

If the family of Dominique Bernard wished to celebrate funerals in the privacy of your home relatives of the deceased, she accepted Please ensure that the ceremony is broadcast on a giant screen installed in the room. at the foot of the Arras belfry, on the Place des Héros. From there more than 250 people attended à the tribute paid to the professor. Dominique Bernard's family said they were "very touched by the thousands of signs of support" before the funeral and she thanked him. "all those who accompany us in this ordeal" citing "teachers, students, […] representatives and state services" as well as "all the people who gathered at across France. "We feel supported by this surge of humanity" added the relatives of the Arras professor.

National tribute to a “discreet” man

The funeral of Dominique Bernard was symbolic for the entire nation, the professor having been victim of a terrorist attack in a school and interposed face to face the assailant. A sign that the professor leaves a national memory: he was made knight of the Legion of Honor at posthumous title. A decoration presented by Emmanuel Macron to the family of the deceased before the funeral ceremony. The President of the Republic and his wife, Brigitte Macron, also attended the event. at the funeral, like the Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal.

Wreaths of flowers were deposited in memory of Dominique Bernard on the Place des Héros, in Paris. the outcome of the funeral. A place whose name echoes the gesture that cost life to the professor, and yet the term "hero" now attached to in the name of Dominique Bernard bothers the family. The qualification would certainly have hurt; Dominique Bernard himself is comfortable according to those close to him. The "sensitive and discreet" "didn't like the crowds or the honors" said the family in a moving portrait of the teacher.

Despite the reluctance that Dominique Bernard would have had to be considered like a hero, his family had “everything” made aware that it [was] necessary to articulate three things: intimacy; family, the educational world turned upside down and the nation that feels concerned" said Bishop Olivier Leborgne before the funeral.

Students present and a former "friend" of the attacker

The Gambetta-Carnot high school in Arras closed its doors exceptionally this Thursday, many teachers and students from the affected establishment by the attack wishing to attend the funeral of their professor and colleague. 20 Minutes also reports that among those present at the funeral is a young 20-year-old student, called ; Tristan, who claims to have been "once a friend" of the assailant Mohammed Mogouchko, who was in his class in second grade. "ÇIt seems important to me to go there, because it concerns the cityé school in which I studied for nine years of my life" and "to honor the memory of Mr. Bernard," the young man.